The machining industry is struggling for an economical method and system for separating the lubricant from the swarf material streams and filtering or cleaning the lubricant sufficiently, so as to be reused in the machining process or sold for beneficial reuse or recycled.
Furthermore, many companies are striving to discontinue disposing of waste via landfills. When faced with the high cost of other methods of disposal most companies choose landfill as the preferred method of disposal.
Many companies also have goals to eliminate waste or at least reduce, reuse, or recycle their waste streams.
Some processes exists to aid machining companies that generate swarf material with residual lubricant contamination, however these systems are not effective for swarf material with higher volumes of lubricant contamination. Processes also exists for lightweight swarf, however these systems are not effective in managing large volumes of lightweight material.
Additionally, heavy swarf streams are very difficult to convey and present a significant problem for existing technology. Although a system can be designed to manage a heavy swarf material stream, they have several disadvantages including costs, maintenance, and a large footprint is required.
Chip wringers can remove residual lubricant from chips generated during the machining process. However, they are not economical or effective at removing lubricants from swarf streams that are heavily saturated with lubricants. Furthermore, chip wringers are not economical or effective for swarf streams that are extremely dense as those generated in a grinding operation. A grinding operation generates very fine particles similar to grains of sand.
Briquette machines are also effective in solving the problem for swarf streams that contain residual oil. However they are not effective on swarf streams that contain high percentages of lubricant.
Permanent in-plant systems can be designed to manage a multitude of swarf material streams. However, they have a very large footprint and require a great deal of valuable plant space, consume a significant amount of energy to operate and require a significant amount of specialized maintenance. These systems are also extremely expensive. Another downside of in-plant systems is its scalability. Further, these systems are typically limited to managing a single swarf stream coming from a particular process in the facility. Further, a piece of scrap metal is inadvertently introduced to the feeding system; the entire system could be damaged.
It is apparent now that numerous innovations for separating lubricants from swarf material streams have been developed in the prior art that are adequate for various purposes. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,143,170 and 6,383,394 disclose and teach systems for recovery of solvents, oils, and other hydrocarbons from sorbent articles such as rags, wipes and absorbent pods. These prior art disclosures do not discuss swarf and teach manually loading swarf into top loading centrifuges with shovels. Such manual loading creates significant safety concerns. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific purposes to which they address, accordingly, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described. Thus a method and system for separating lubricants from swarf material streams and simultaneously to overcome the problems of the prior art as listed above is needed.
The figures are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It should be understood that the invention can be practiced with modification and alteration, and that the invention be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.